A new study, titled "Risk of sound-induced hearing loss from exposure to video gaming or esports: a systematic scoping review", published in BMJ health has found that gamers have an above average risk of suffering from hearing loss or tinnitus in the long term. This is the result of them playing video games for several hours at a time with the noise level being turned up far past safe levels for human beings with all things having been considered and taken into account.
According to the World Health Organization, a noise level of 80 decibels for forty hours per week is relatively safe. In spite of the fact that this is the case, any minor excess to this safe level results in an exponential increase in the likelihood of harm being done. 90 decibel sounds are only safe for four hours a week, and 95 decibels for just one hour and fifteen minutes.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the noise level in four shooting games that were analyzed as part of this study hovered between 88.5 decibels and 91.2 decibels. This is the average noise level, and gamers also experience short bursts of up to 119 decibels as well.
The duration of this exposure may result in irreversible damage to their hearing, which is why it’s so important to intervene and inform. It bears mentioning that this study is based on self reported data which goes back to the 1990s, and games weren’t the same back then. However, it’s difficult to deny that a correlation exists between extended gaming sessions and various kinds of hearing loss and tinnitus.
The way to prevent this damage is by encouraging keep volumes down to reasonable levels instead of pushing the sound to the max. We might start to see a widespread epidemic of hearing loss, especially given how loud music can get at concerts, and with gaming now also added to the mix it is more important than ever to educate people on the long term effects of noise exposure. More evidence will also need to be collected in order to verify the theories presented in the paper.
Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen
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According to the World Health Organization, a noise level of 80 decibels for forty hours per week is relatively safe. In spite of the fact that this is the case, any minor excess to this safe level results in an exponential increase in the likelihood of harm being done. 90 decibel sounds are only safe for four hours a week, and 95 decibels for just one hour and fifteen minutes.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the noise level in four shooting games that were analyzed as part of this study hovered between 88.5 decibels and 91.2 decibels. This is the average noise level, and gamers also experience short bursts of up to 119 decibels as well.
The duration of this exposure may result in irreversible damage to their hearing, which is why it’s so important to intervene and inform. It bears mentioning that this study is based on self reported data which goes back to the 1990s, and games weren’t the same back then. However, it’s difficult to deny that a correlation exists between extended gaming sessions and various kinds of hearing loss and tinnitus.
The way to prevent this damage is by encouraging keep volumes down to reasonable levels instead of pushing the sound to the max. We might start to see a widespread epidemic of hearing loss, especially given how loud music can get at concerts, and with gaming now also added to the mix it is more important than ever to educate people on the long term effects of noise exposure. More evidence will also need to be collected in order to verify the theories presented in the paper.
Read next: Excessive Social Media Usage Might Increase Risk Seeking Behaviors Among Children
